For as long as FromSoftware continues to churn out subjective masterpieces, imitators and clones will always arise, taking influence in the form of Soulslikes. Not all Soulslikes live up to the exceptional standards fans set aside for them, particularly due to their loose interpretation of the formula.
FromSoftware has earned its modern status as an emergent developer with Soulslike titles such as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and now Elden Ring. FromSoftware needed to dip into traditional open-world mechanics for Elden Ring, and still somehow managed to produce open-world functionality that fans have since put on a pedestal for other open-world titles to aspire to in the future. Few games accomplish the breadth of world-building and action-RPG mechanics that FromSoftware is able to, and the Soulslike games that do are in an upper echelon for it.
FromSoftware Games Are Often Masterclasses in World Design
One of the most intricately detailed and fascinating features in any FromSoftware game is its incredible sense of world-building. The scale of each Dark Souls game, for example, provides a wealth of fantastical mythology within its sparse environmental storytelling, and while lore can be convoluted, it is not mandatory for players to understand it entirely in order to enjoy its atmosphere.
Many games now have fans and developers ascribe the term Soulslike to them indiscriminately whether they are third-person, 2D, or any other such classification. Games such as Death’s Door, Blasphemous, Hollow Knight, Nioh, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order all take at least some inspiration from FromSoftware’s Soulsborne formula, whether it is its unforgiving death mechanic, hit-and-run combat, or action-RPG progression.
However, what elevates a Soulslike from an imitator to its own fantastic title is how wondrous and in-depth its world-building is, even compared to FromSoftware games. Instead, there are more unfavorable Soulslikes than there are favorable ones. It may be unfair due to how extensive and established its own franchise is, but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is an example of a Soulslike that benefits from its scale and scope in a science-fiction landscape with many diverse planets and biomes to travel to, making its world dynamic and interconnected uniquely and in a way that other Soulslikes should strive to achieve.
Soulslikes Commonly Lack the Gameplay Diversity Found in FromSoftware Games
Besides Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, it is arguable that FromSoftware’s Soulsborne catalog lacks dynamic combat. Fans know how much repetitive somersaulting is involved in Soulsborne combat, where a quick and often insignificant strike from the player is typically followed up with several evasive dodges due to the overwhelming foe’s subsequent string of attacks.
This hit-and-run approach to combat in Dark Souls and the like is intentional. Players are supposed to be inferior to mobs of enemies and larger-than-life bosses in the beginning of Soulsborne games. That is where FromSoftware’s excellent action-RPG progression comes in.
Players then spend their entire journey searching in the perilous nooks and crannies of each FromSoftware world they inhabit for chests that hold fascinating armor, weapons, or items that can aid them in their goal of vanquishing bosses, which then gives them the currency needed to level up their stats. In this progression lies the player’s choice to not only approach bosses when they would like, but also to experiment with unique armaments and decide the way that they would like to allocate their stats further along into the game.
Other Soulslike imitators typically lack this diversity in gameplay and the options with which FromSoftware games are given replayability. The Surge, for example, only features alterations between its set pieces of gear, of which there are several scrounged from enemies, but have much fewer options in terms of how dynamic gameplay can become with entirely different classes and builds. Upcoming Soulslikes that are also seemingly unabashed in their FromSoftware imitation are Lies of P and Black Myth: Wukong, and it will be interesting to see how each iterates on the formula.